Face masks

SmallTown

SmallTown

Well-known member
Ever so slowly and painfully the common sense of using face masks to help dissipate the spread of the virus seems to be gaining traction. It's still nowhere NEAR what it should be, I reckon about 40 percent of the people I have seen inside have been wearing them but it's a start.

I think we need to mandate it in more places. Also voice it much better. I can't believe the amount of people on London transport without face masks. even though it IS mandatory.
 
I always go back to Hong Kong - and my brother in Hong Kong asking me if I had any face masks back at the start of February. They wore them throughout and have come out the other side with only 4 deaths still. They have confidence to go out to beaches, full restaurants and bars. Where else in the world would that be the case I wonder?
But also they had no flu outbreak at all this year - and the reason seems to be because everyone was washing hands constantly and wearing face masks.
 
Yeah, the antipode an countries aside, it simply CANT be a coincidence that the countries that regularly wear face masks have recorded massively fewer deaths than those that don’t
 
It just needs to be mandatory. I have to admit I've been a bit lax at times but if it's mandatory then you have no choice and if you've forgot when out and about you're just going to have to go home and get it.
 
I've noticed in the last week or so that I've not had to queue to get in anywhere which makes it nigh on impossible to socially distance in store. More reason why masks are even more important now.
 
Likely to be mandatory from Monday 13 July in my autonomous region, Andalucía.

Only optional for sports. Including golf I guess.
 
I have worn a mask in shops since lockdown started as has my wife, other people don't bother so it does make you feel self conscious.
When we leave the shop we take them off i see no need for them in the fresh air as of yet.
 
turnoffsaysthestar said:
I have worn a mask in shops since lockdown started as has my wife, other people don't bother so it does make you feel self conscious.
When we leave the shop we take them off i see no need for them in the fresh air as of yet.
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I think you’re right there, unless you’re actually stood talking to someone outside for more than about fifteen minutes I don’t think your transmission rate will be high enough to need a mask to try and slow it down . I don’t wear mine outdoors. I prefer avoiding people
 
I saw on the BBC that England's mask wearing percentage was 25%, from my experience it must be a lot lower than that around here.
In the queue at IKEA today I could count on the fingers of both hands the number of others wearing masks. Thankfully the shop itself was well organised and they are clearly limiting the numbers going in.
If they want people to get back out there I think, as I said a while back, that mandatory mask wearing will be needed.
 
Be careful how you take them off, don’t pull up or down your face, lift it away after undoing it from yer lugs
 
I wear them when working in certain places due to their policy...

I would wear one in shops if i have to, no problem...

I dont as a rule wear them tho, buut have no problem with them or those that do...

I got involved with some loon on a facbook forum who said that because the corona particle is so small, they are inefective... so i pointed out its to reduce the spread of aerosol particles that carry the corona particle.. he suggested we're all being brain washed and that i should read more on the internet, so he provided me with lots of links... he then went on to say they reduce oxygen intake and CO2 exhalation... surely O2 and CO2 are smaler than corna virus particles though.... hmmmm! he didnt like my tinfoil hat gif either...
 
They wear masks in China too but it didn't seem to make that much difference. Perhaps there would have been far more deaths.

The following is from a study published in June.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7323223/

"Thus, a pre‐symptomatic or mildly infected person wearing a facemask for hours without changing it and without washing hands every time they touched the mask could paradoxically increase the risk of infecting others. Because the USA is in a desperate situation, their Centers for Disease Control has recommended the public wear homemade cloth masks. This was essentially done in an effort to try and reduce community transmission, especially from people who may not perceive themselves to be symptomatic, rather than to protect the wearer, although the evidence for this is scant. In contrast, the World Health Organization currently recommends against the public routinely wearing facemasks"

Masks may make some difference (according to the study there's limited evidence), but it isn't just about wearing masks. Countries with less deaths typically stopped travel early enough to make a difference. Taiwan was one of the first to shut down international travel. They do have a mandatory mask policy on public transport but the quarantine rules on international travel and the rapid test and trace are more likely reasons for the low spread.

I should add that I wear a mask in public buildings and have no objection to doing so. But make it mandatory and you invite disobedience from the fiercely independent. 25 years trying to get people to do stuff tells me that voluntary observance is more effective. Especially if you can get enough compliance from the generally willing to make it the norm. And provided you have a supply of masks.
 
Given that we have a less than stellar contact tracing system then any measure that prevents infected people unwittingly spreading it is a good thing. Tracing those random contacts on public transport etc is the big problem.
 
br14 said:
They wear masks in China too but it didn't seem to make that much difference. Perhaps there would have been far more deaths.

The following is from a study published in June.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7323223
Click to expand...

China's deaths per capita is one of the lowest in the world (it's over 200 times lower than the UK's, for instance) and I'm not sure on what basis you reckon mask wearing didn't play a part in that.

Even in June, our knowledge of exactly how this virus spreads was still undergoing change.

The latest study I've seen was the one published 4 days ago by Oxford University. It was a comprehensive study using evidence and data from all around the world, including an international comparison of policies and behavioural factors underlying usage. It states in part:
The evidence is clear that people should wear masks to reduce virus transmission and protect themselves, with most countries recommending the public to wear them.
[...]
Next to hand washing and social distancing, face masks and coverings are one of the most widely adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions for reducing the transmission of respiratory infections.
[...]
The general public does not need to wear surgical masks or respirators. We find that masks made from high quality material such as high-grade cotton, multiple layers and particularly hybrid constructions are effective. For instance, combining cotton and silk or flannel provide over 95% filtration, so wearing a mask can protect others.
Click to expand...

Face masks and coverings work - act now
 
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